Drainboard



J. c. NELSON 2,056,616

DRAINBOARD Filed Jan. 11, 1933 llllllllm 5 =1 v IuvENmR Mmsas B'r x mfl' V imam/m ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 6, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRAINBOARD Application January 11, 1933, Serial No. 651,133

3 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in drainboards, and relates more particularly to drainboards adapted to be used in connection with that type of clothes washing and drying machine in which an extractor or drying apparatus operates in conjunction with a washing machine.

In clothes washing and drying machines of the combined type, a pair of vats, one for containing the washing elements and the other for contain ing the drying apparatus, are usually mounted upon a common base. To prevent drippage of cleansing fluid and water on the floor and on the outside of the machine, some form of drainboard must be utilized between the washing vat and the extractor vat, and between the extractor vat and an external clothes-receiving vessel such as laundry tray or the like.

To prevent the drainboard from interfering with the ready placement in or removal of clothes from the vats and in order that the drainboard should not increase the storage space occupied by the machine, it has been customary either to provide a drainboard which might readily be removed bodily from the extractor vat and secured in another position, or to adapt the drainboard to be movable on the extractor vat either by rotating the drainboard on the vat or by other means requiring the operator to manipulate the drainbcard into the desired position.

Each of the methods described above is inconvenient and necessitates a loss of time since, unless the drainboard should happen already to be in the position desired, the operator is required each time the clothes are to be transferred from one place to another, to move the drainboard to the proper position.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved and simplified means for preventing drippage of cleansing fluid and water on the floor.

A further object of my invention is to provide an inexpensive means for preventing drippage of cleansing fluid and water on the floor, which will cause a minimum of inconvenience to the free use of the machine and access to the interior thereof.

A further object of my invention is to provide a structure in which a drainboard means is available to catch the drippage from the clothes both as they are transferred from the washing vat to the drying vat, and from the drying vat to a vessel externally thereof, without necessitating the movement of any part of themachine or interfering, to any appreciable extent, with free access to the interior of the vats.

Other objects and advantages of my novel drainboard, will be more apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanyin drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a combined washing and drying machine, with my novel drainboard mounted in operative position.

Figure 2 is a partial side view of the machine shown in Figure l.

Figure 3 is a partial sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view taken on the line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a view showing a modification of the drainboard shown in Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a view taken on the line 66 of Figure 5.

Referring to the drawing, a drying extractor, generally indicated by the numeral H is shown mounted on a common base l2 with and in juxtaposition to a washing machine, generally indicated by the numeral l3. The drying extractor, in general, comprises an extractor vat l4, internally of which is mounted a suitable means for drying clothes. Although it will be understood that various types of drying apparatus may be used, I have shown an extractor basket l5 of the foraminous rotatable type. The washing machine I3 comprises a washing vat IS in which may be mounted any suitable means for washing clothes, such as indicated at H in Figure l. The washing machine and the dryingextractor may be driven either separately or from a common source of motive power which is preferably mounted beneath and partially hidden from view by an apron l8 which depends from and is secured to the base [2. The vats l4 and I G, in order that they may be retained in close relationship, may be tied together by means of a nut and bolt assembly 20 and the nut and bolt assembly may be provided with a rubber sealing means 20 which serves to prevent leakage around the bolt. Preferably the upper rim of the extractor vat M is rolled over as at H! to strengthen the extractor vat and protect the rim from deformation.

Internally of the extractor vat and at the upper edge thereof there is secured by means of nut and bolt assemblies 2|, a continuous ring member, or as shown in the drawing, two semicircular members 22. Each of the members 22 is provided with a flange 23 projecting inwardly from the members 22 and on the inwardly. prothough the flanges 23 and 29 flt snugly together,

they are sufficiently loose to adapt the drainboard means 24 to be manually rotated on the flange 23.

The outer extremities of the'drainboard means 24 incline downwardly and outwardly beyond the rim of the extractor vat to form drainboards 3i and 32 on diametrically opposite sides of the ex- ,7

tractor vat I4. The plate 26 is provided with upstanding side members 33 which serve to confine the cleansing fluid and water dripping from the clothes and direct it either back to the washing vat 56 by means of the drainboard 32 or back to an external clothes-receiving vessel such as a laundry tray by means of the drainboard 35. The outer edge of each of the drainboards 3! and 32 is curved downwardly and inwardly as at 3 so that a rounded edge, unlikely to tear the clothes, is presented to the fabrics when they are transferred from one vessel to another. The outer edges of the drainboards 3| and 32 are also inwardly curved as at 36 and flare outwardly as at 35 to conform to some extent with the curvature of the washing vat over the rim ofwhich the drainboard 32 extends. In order to accommodate a cover 30 for the washer vat IS, the extractor vat I4 is preferably made somewhat higher than the washer vat whereby the cover 30 may be placed in position under the overlying edge of the drainboard 32.

It will be apparent that the drainboards 3! and 32 are always in position to catch the drippage from the clothes not only as they are transferred from the washing vat to the drying vat, but also as they are transferred from the drying vat to an external clothes-receiving vessel. The usual place for positioning such an external clothes-receiving vessel is at a point diametrically opposite the clothes washing vat l6, and hence in theusual course of operation, the drainboard need not be moved and no inconvenience is occasioned to the operator. Further, the drainboards cause little or no interference with the ready placement in or removal of clothes from either the washing vat or the drying vat.

During the course of operationof the machine, it is sometimes desirable to remove the clothes from the washing vat in a direction other than diametrically opposite the washing vat. Accordingly, the drainboard means 24 maybe rotated with respect to the washing vat M by rotating the flange 29 on the flange 23. The drainboards 3i and 32 may thus be moved into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, or to any other position about the extractor vat.

In Figures 5 and 6, I have shown a modification of the drainboard described above. In this construction, the drainboard means 2 3 has a depending flange M which is secured directly on the upper rim of the extractor vat M by means of nut and bolt assemblies 42. In this construction also, the upstanding side members 33 extend beneath the plane of the drainboards 3| and 32, and the depending edge of the side members forms a continuous line 43 extending across themachine. It will be apparent that in this construction also, I have provided a drainboard which need not be moved from one position to another during the usual course of operation of the machine and is available to prevent drippage on the floor both as the clothes are transferred from the washing vat to the drying vat, and also as they are transferred from the drying vat to an external clothes-receiving vessel.

It will be understood that my invention is adapted for use in various types of washing machine apparatus and, therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown, as various changes may be made both in the form and relation of the parts thereof, without departing from the scope of this invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a combined washing and drying machine,

an extractor vat, a rotatable drainboard rotatably mounted on said extractor vat, said drainboard having a pair of sloping surfaces extending downwardly and away from the circumference of said extractor vat at diametrically opposite sides thereof.

2. In a combined washing and drying machine, an extractor vat, a rotatable drainboard rotatably mounted on said extractor vat, said drainboard having a pair of sloping surfaces extending downwardly and away from the circumference of said extractor vat at diametrically opposite sides thereof and said drainboard hav ing upstanding side members extending transversely thereof to direct the flow of water on said sloping surfaces.

3. In a device of the class described, an extractor vat, a rotatable clothes receptacle mounted in said extractor vat, a single integral member mounted at the top of said extractor vat having a drainage surface entirely surrounding the circumference of the extractor vat and having a pair of surfaces sloping downwardly away from the extractor vat and constituting drainboards therefor and means enabling rotation of said member about a vertical axis to position said drainboards at any desired point about the periphery of said extractor vat.

JABEZ C. NELSON. 

